Brick-press.



I Patentad Aug 28, I900. P. L. SIMPSON &. C. L. BEDFIELD.

BRICK PRESS.

(Application filed Sept. 20, 1897.)

3 SheetsSheet I.

(No Model.)

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B R l G K P R E S S (Application filed Sept. 20, 1897.)

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(No Model.)

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No. 656,733. Patented Aug. 28,1900. P. L. smrson & c. L. REDFIELD.

BRICK PRESS.

(Application filed Sept. 20, 1897.)

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

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STATES- PATENT OFFICE.

PETER L. SIMPSON AND CASPER L. REDFIELD OF OIIIOAGO, ILLINOIS; SAID REDFIELD ASSIGNOR TO SAID SIMPSON.

BRICK-PRESS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Fatent No. 656,? 33, dated August 28, 190 0. Appli ati n filed September 20, 1897. Serial No. 852,338. (No model.)

To allwhom it may concern.-

I Be it known that we, PETERL. SIMPSON and CAsPnn L. BED'FIELD, citizens of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Brick- Presses of which the followingis a specification.

Our inventionrelates to the kind of press used forre-pressing bricks or clots that have already been molded into a shape closely approximating the finished brick. In this kind of a machine the operator places the clots upon an inclined table, from which he slides them onto the feeding-table, whence they are automatically delivered to the molds, pressed, discharged, and passed to a carry-- ing-belt, which delivers them at a desired point.

Our invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation. Fig. 2 is a similar view in section, showing the interior of the machine. Fig. 3 is a front elevation. partly in section and with certain parts removed for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the construction. Fig. 4: is a partial section through the molds and frame and similarto Fig.3. Fig. 5 is a partial section on line X X of Fig. 1, and Figs. 6 and 7 are details. 7

On the base 1 are the side frames 2, in the main bearings of which is a shaft provided with gears 3, that are connected together by the central crank-pin 4:. At the ends of the said shaft are two other crank-pins 5. The crank-pins 5 are in line with each other and about ten degrees in advance of the crankpin 4, the said gears and cranks moving in the direction of the arrows in Figs. 1 and 2. From the crank-pine a connecting-rod 6 connects' to the top plunger 7, that slides in the guides 8 and 9. The plunger-legs 10 are provided with plates 11, that are adapted to enter the mold-box 12 for the purpose of applying pressure on the top surface of the bricks being re pressed. The mold-box 12 rests upon lugs 13 on the frames 2 and is held in place by keys 14, between lips on the said mold-box, and another lug 15 on the frame 2. Each of the cranks 5 is embraced by a box 16, from which two rods 17 extend to a similar box 18,

that embraces the pin 19 on the bottom plunger 20. Plunger-legs 21 are bolted to the plunger and are adapted to enter the lower part of the mold-box 12. It is between the plates 22 on the lower plunger-legs and plates 11 on the upper plunger-legs that the bricks are pressed. Near the ends of the lower plunger 20 are cross-heads 23, that slide in guides 2i on the frame 2. On the tops of these cross-heads are removable blocks 25, that are adapted to come into contact with the lugs 26on the frame 2 when said crossheads are at their highest position. The rods 17 pass through and are adapted to slide in the boxes 18. Nuts 27 on the rods 17 determine the minimum distance between. the pins 5 and 19, but the springs 28 on the lower ex tensions of the rods 17 permit this distance to be increased when the blocks 25 come into contact with the lugs 26. Nuts 29 provide for increasing the tension on the springs 27. The distance between the top of the block 25 and the lower face of thelug 26 exactly equals the distance between the top face of the plates 22 and the top face of the mold-box 12. The object of this is to stop the bottom plunger 20 before the cranks 5 reach their highest point, and thus give a period of time after the bricks are dischargedfrom the molds in which the top face of the mold-box 12 and the plates 22 furnish a plane face. This permits the discharged bricks to be pushed to the rear and fresh clots supplied in their place before the bottomplunger plates descend again into the mold. The springs 28 are of sufficient stiffness to resist a considerable pressure before the box 18 separates from the nuts 27, but yield readily when the blocks 25 come into contact with the lugs 26.

Located in the bed 1, under the plunger 20, are two cylindrical chambers 30, in which are bolts 31, (see Fig. 6,) having enlarged heads 32, which fit in the bored-out parts of 5 chambers 30. A nut 33 in the recess 34 of each chamber 30 and holes 35 in the head32 for the reception of a wrench furnish means for adjustment. A heavy spring 36 under.

the head 32 gives it a strong initial force to 1coretain the position shown in the drawings. The height of the heads 32 is adjusted so that contains an extra amount of material that cannot be compressed into the space of an ordinary brick the springs 28 and 36 yield, and thereby furnish a safety-valve to prevent breakage of the machine. If the clots contain only the normal quantity of material or but slightly more than it, the heads 32 furnish an abutment for the bottom plunger sufficiently resisting to give the maximum pressure required.

Pivoted on a pin 37 in each frame 2 is a lever 38, provided with a slot 38 in which works a roller 39 on the clamp 40, that is secured to and adjustable on the rods 17. At the lower ends of levers 38 are connected links 41, that pass through openings 42 in the frames 2 and connect to the shover 43 to move it. The shover 43 works in guides 44 overthe table 45, that is bolted to the front of the frames 2. A bracket 46 on the table supports an inclined table 47, on which the clots are placed and from which they are pushed by hand onto the table 45 when the shover 43 is in the position shown in Fig. 2. Loosely journaled in the guides 44 is a roller 48, that is free to rise when a clot passes under it. Oil drips on the roll 48 from a pipe 49, that is fed from a reservoir 50, supported on the frame 2. An extension to the pipe 49 (not shown) also drips oil on the inclined table 47. The object of this is to oil the clots, so that they will not stick to the sides of the molds when being pressed. Located just to the rear of the mold-box 12 is a pulley 51, the upper edge of which is practically on a level with or slightly below the top face of the mold-box. The. pulley 51 is supportedin a frame 52, that rests on the lugs 13 and is held to the frames 2 by bolts, one of which is shown at 53 in Fig. 1. The frame 52 is supported in a horizontal position by struts 54, that go, down to the bed 1. A delivery-belt 55 travels on the pulley 51 and is supported at intervals by the idle rolls 56, journaled in the frame 52. The driving-pulley may be placed on shaft 57 and power conveyed by gearing to cranks 4 and 5 and by sprockets and chains to pulley 51 in the manner that will readily be understood by inspection of Figs. 1 and 2.

In explaining the operation of the press it will be assumed that the cranks 4 and 5 are exactly in line, and the modification introduced by the slight advance of cranks 5 will be subsequently explained. The center line of the main crank-shaft is illustrated by the broken line ZZ in Fig. 3, and it will be observed that the stroke of crank 4 is greater than that of cranks 5, from which it will be apparent that the plunger 7 travels a greater distance than plunger 20. This difference between the travel of the two plungers is increased by the stoppage of the bottom plunger when the block 25 comes into contact with the lug 26 and is diminished by the length of the slotted opening 60 in the upper end of the connecting-rod 6. With the assumed condition of cranks 4 and 5 being in line it will be evident that the plungers 7 and 20 rise and fall together, but at different rates of speed. When they begin to rise from the bottom po-. sition, (shown in Figs. 2 and 4,) the top plunger does not immediately leave the brick that is being pushed out of the mold by the rise of the bottom plunger, but rests upon it until the crank 4 has taken up the slack due to the slot 60 in the connecting-rod 6. The length of this slot is made such that the top plunger leaves the brick just before it is completely discharged from the mold and remains clear of the clot that takes the place of the brick until it has fallen an equal distance into the mold. This additional pressure (weight of upper plunger and rod) on the brick while being discharged assists in polishing the sides and making a better-finished brick than would otherwise be the case. When the bottom plunger reaches the point where it is stopped by the lug 26, the top plunger is clear of the brick and is still rising. At this point of time the feed which displaces the brick by the clot may begin, but is timed so that the bottom plunger begins to fall just before the clot reaches its extreme position, the object being to let it fall a little ways into the mold and be stopped by the rear face of the mold. When the plungers are falling, the top plunger is gradually overtaking the bottom plunger and will reach the up per surface of the clot and have taken up the slack due to the slot 60 just before they reach the lowest position, after which further movement results in compression of the brick. As thecranks are at this time nearing the deadcenters, it will be evident that a considerable actual pressure can be applied by only a moderate strain on the teeth of gears 3. Furthermore, as the pressure applied on the top of the clot by the top plunger is transmitted through the material to the bottom plunger and back again to cranks 5, thereby assisting in turning the gears 3, it will be apparent that more pressure can be and is applied to the brick than is represented by the strain on the teeth of gears 3 when applied to an ordinary crank movement of the same size. In fact, the movement arranged in this way be comes a differential crank movement which may be analyzed as follows: Assuming that ten inches travel is necessary to get the re= quired extreme position of the top plunger and that the bottom plunger be given a travel of seven inches, then the difference between these two is three inches, and the gears 3 will be able to give as great a pressure from a teninch crank arranged in this way as they would from a three-inch plain crank.

The modifications introduced by giving the cranks 5 an advance of about ten degrees may be described as follows: When the cranks 5 pass the lowerdead-center, the crank lis still falling and the plungers are approaching each other, though very slowly. Ordinarily the bottom plunger will not commence to rise immediately upon the rise of the cranks 5; but the whole force of the springs 28 will be thrown upon the bottom of the bricks and measure the amount of the pressure unless there be extra material in the clot, in which event part or all of the force of springs 36 will be added. As the cranks 5 pass the dead-center before crank 4 does, the bottom plunger has a tendency to rise faster than the top plunger at the beginning of the upward movement, and the result is that the whole force of springs 28 is maintained on the bricks until crank 4: is ten or fifteen degrees past the center and cranks 5 twenty or twenty-five degrees past, after which the pressure is simply that due to the weight of the top plunger. This moving the bricks through the molds under full pressure adds to the polish of the faces. Another effect of advancing the cranks 5 is that the top plunger is a little later in leaving the surface of the brick being discharged, and thus gives a longer polishing movement, anda little later in reaching the clot in descending, which gives more time for the feed that displaces the bricks by fresh clots.

As the cranks 5 move in a circle and the pins 19 move in a straight line, it will be evident that intermediate points on the rods 17 will move in ellipses more or less elongated, (or narrowed,) according to their distances from 5 and 19. Therefore if the clamp 40 and its roller 39 be raised it will increase the stroke of the lever 38, and consequently of the shover 43, while if they be lowered it will decrease the stroke. As the movement of the crank 5 is in the direction of the arrow, it will be apparent that the movement toward the rear (which is the movement that displaces the finished brick bya fresh clot) occurs when the roller 39 is near the top of the slot 38, and consequently near the pivot 37. This makes the feeding quick, while in the return movement the roller is further down in the slot and the movement is slower. This quick feeding reduces the time in which it is necessary to hold the bottom plunger stationary at its upper position and brings the compression of the springs 28 down to about seven per cent. of the total movement of the cranks 5.

What we claim is--= 1. In a brick-press, upper and lower plungers adapted to act upon opposite faces of a brick, coincident cranks having difierent lengths, connections from said cranks to said plungers for moving them, and means for stopping the movement of one plunger while its crank continues to move.

2. In a brick-press, an upper plunger adapted to act upon the upper face of abrick, a lower plunger adapted to act upon the lower face of a brick, differential cranks, connections from the longer crank to the upper plunger and from the shorter crank to the lower plunger, means for holding the lower plunger stationary while its crank continues to move, and devices for moving material into and out of said press while said lower plunger is held stationary.

3. In a brick-press, a mold-box, upper and lower plungers adapted to compress a brick in said box, springs for determining the maximum pressure applied to such brick, devices for operating said plungers so as to move said brick in said box, and means for causing a part of such movement of said brick to occur while under its maximum pressure.

4. In a press, connected cranks of diderent lengths, said cranks being placed with the shorter having a slight advance over the longer, a mold-box, an upper plunger movable downward against the upper face of material in said box, a lower plunger movable upward against the lower face of such mate-1 difierent lengths, connecting-rods from said cranks to said plungers, and means for stopping the lower plunger while the cranks continue their movement.

6. In a brick-press, connected cranks of difierent lengths and mechanism for moving them, said cranks being in a coincident position with each other, upper and lower plungers, a rigid connection between the longer of said cranks and the upper plunger, and a yielding connection between the shorter of said cranks and the lower plunger.

7. In a press, the combination of upper and lower plungers for compressing material within a mold-box in said press, the moldbox, a differential crank movement, a'rigid connection between the longer crank and the upper plunger, a yielding connection between the shorter crank and the lower plunger, and means for stopping the movement of thelower plunger while its crank is in motion.

8. In a press, top and bottom plungers,differential cranks for operating the plungers, a connection between the longercrank and'the top plunger, a yielding connection between the shorter crank and the bottom plunger, and means for stopping the movement of the bottom plunger without stopping the crank.

9. In a press, upper and lower plungers, cranks to operate the same and connections between the plungers and cranks, a spring in the connection between the lower plunger and its crank for determining the normal pressure applied by said plungers, and a spring-supported abutment upon which said lower plunger rests at its lowest normal po sition.

10. -In a machine for re-pressing bricks, plungers and means for operating them,

springs connected to one of said plungers for determining the normal pressure applied thereby, and additional and independent springs located in the path of said plunger for applying a greater pressure when the material in said bricks exceeds the normal amount.

11. In a machine for re-pressing bricks, the combination of a crank, a plunger and a yielding connection between the two, of a spring-supported abutment upon which said plunger rests at its lowest normal position, and means for permitting the adjustment of said abutment.

12. In a press, upper and lower plungers, a shaft for moving them, a yielding connection between said shaft and the lower plunger, and a slotted connection between said shaft and the upper plunger.

13. In a machine for pressing bricks, a mold-box and a plunger entering said box from beneath, a rotatory crank and connections for moving said plunger, means for holding said plunger at its highest position and on a level with the top of said mold-box while said crank is making part of its revolution, a device for pushing away the brick discharged from said box and supplying its place by a new and unpressed brick, and means for operating said device by the movement of said crank.

14:. In a brick-press the combination with a mold-box, a plunger, a rotatory crank, and connections between said plunger and said crank, of a feeding device, a lever therefor, and means for operating said lever by the lateral movement of the connection between said crank and said plunger.

15. In a brick-press, a feeding device consisting of a slide, a connection from said slide to a lever, means for operating said lever so ating said feed device from the connections between said plungers and cranks, and means for varying the length of travel of said feed device.

17."In a machine provided with plungers adapted to operate in amold-boX, coincident and connected cranks for moving them, means for holding one of said plungers stationary while its crank is moving, a feeding device, and means for moving said feeding device quickly while said plunger is being held stationary by connections to the same crank that moves the said plunger.

18. In a brick-press, a mold-box, a plunger adapted to be moved therein and to discharge compressed material therefrom, a crank and connections between said crank and said plunger for moving the latter, a table, a feeding device movable thereon, and means for operating said feeding device from the connections between said crank and said plunger.

19. In a brick-press, a plunger adapted to discharge compressed material from a moldbox, a crank, connections between said crank and said plunger for moving the latter, a feeding device, an adjustable device for varying the travel of said feeding device, and means for operating said adjustable device from the connection between said plunger and said crank.

PETER L. SIMPSON. CASPER L. REDFIELD.

Witnesses:

JosEPH K. HANDY, F. S. SAWYER. 

